Growing up, I dreamed of being a rockstar astronaut — splashing in the pool with my mom, imagining a world with no-gravity rock concerts featuring the surface of the water as my drums and the deck as my stage — a truly cosmic sound. However, as I grew up, my dream of being a rockstar or an astronaut — let alone both — slowly drifted away. But more dreams came into orbit.
All throughout my tween years, I dreamed of being a marine biologist. My love for the ocean growing fonder and fonder with the years. By the time I was 12, Discovery Channel’s Shark Week had become a national holiday. And yet, I am here today, and I am not studying astronomy, or music, or marine biology. All of these dreams, however, led me to where I am today — studying English on a pre-law track.
Music has taught me confidence. Although my dreams of being a rockstar astronaut faded, music stuck around for a bit. I began singing in second grade, I would take lessons down the street, and every Monday, I would ride my kick scooter down Georgia Lane with a yellow binder full of songs. I would sing so loud in the comfort of my teacher's home, yet quiet and timid in front of a crowd. I never stopped being nervous for performances, as the years went on, I merely became more comfortable being afraid, knowing the nerves meant I cared. Suddenly fear transformed into something much less hindering and much more motivating. Because I knew that if I wasn’t afraid, the song I was about to sing wasn’t making me better. Music taught me to have faith in myself in the midst of difficult things.
Marine biology has taught me that there is always more to learn. There is a fruitful world out there, and tuning your heart to everything this life has to offer will only make you better. Roughly 80% of our oceans remain unexplored. Just as the seafloor remains untouched, there is always something more to learn right in front of us. Join the swim team for one season at the end of high school, apply to be a tour guide for your university, and apply for other things even if you do not get it. There is something to learn out of everything if you know to look for it.
Astronomy has shown me the vastness of opportunity, and that failure is often what makes the brightest stars. I am constantly brought back to the notion that every star we see in the sky has already died, yet they still align in a constant pattern and tell their story, their very weakness being their strongest power.
So, here I am now, still mildly unsure of what I will end up doing in life, but confident that with perseverance, curiosity, and a little bit of fear, my dreams are just in reach.
With love,
an Alpha Delta Pi Sister